


courageous idiots (and where to find them)

by elliestars



Series: lights over the city [2]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, F/F, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay Panic, Humor, Tumblr Prompt, also yes there are a BUNCH of references in here, credits to @prinxlyart for the prompt, kudos to you if you get them all, lights over the city, oh wow so many original tags huh, oh yeah tfw i don't feel like double spacing B), yall have to suffer whenever you read any lotc fic sorry :)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28481133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elliestars/pseuds/elliestars
Summary: It's a written fact by now that in order to be courageous, you have to be an idiot.Idiots do brave things, they do stupid things.And they probably don't think before they do them.-The Summer Starlight festival is set to arrive in two weeks, and Emira's got her eyes on asking a special someone to be her date for it.Viney's got the same thought too.Expressing those feelings might prove to be a bit more difficult than originally planned, though...(Part 2 of "Lights Over The City", a set of interconnected stories that revolves around one main plot. You don't necessarily have to read the original LOTC before reading this, but the story will make a lot more sense if you do. Enjoy! :D)
Relationships: Emira Blight/Viney
Series: lights over the city [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030542
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	courageous idiots (and where to find them)

**Author's Note:**

> lotc is left on some of my old fics so i wont apologize for single spaced paragraphs. it's meant to be a reference to how i wrote lotc originally.
> 
> IT IS DONE. IT'S DONE. HOLY CRAP. I'VE HAD THIS IN MY DRAFTS FOR MONTHS ASDFJKJKJSKDJKSS
> 
> now words. just, like, read it and you'll get it. :D enjoy

It’s a written rule by now that if you want to be courageous, you have to be an idiot.

History is usually written by the cowardly. The weak. The puny. The people who carry around journals to write their stories in, with blind hope people will read them. 

Well, people DID read them, but that’s besides the point.

Idiots do brave things, they do stupid things.

They do things that don’t make sense.

And they probably don’t think before they do them.

At least, not Emira.

  
——-

  
“You’re really in over your head, sis.” Edric said, sticking a finger into his food. 

“That’s exactly what I was afraid of.” Emira replied, sighing.

“Look, I'm pretty you don't know if she likes you back. If anything, you're the oblivious one, and not Viney.” Ed retorted, pulling his finger back and cringing as his food formed a tentacle.

“Maybe, If I’m lucky, this whole thing will subside, and I’ll never have to worry about it again. I mean, do you even KNOW what mom and dad would do if they found out about this?” Emira said, staring at her lunch tray.

“They’d kill you, and then hurt you really badly.” Edric stated. “Upper class witches despise lower class witches. It’s a fact.” He said, pointing a fork at Emira.

“Maybe I’d just have to keep it a secret. I mean, I won’t have to worry about liking Viney if they never find out.” Emira rolled her eyes, pushing her tray away, noticing just the tiniest tentacle forming in its mush.

“That’s kind of overkill, Em.” Edric replied. “If you want to get over this crush, you gotta talk to her. You can’t simply will it out of existence, or whatever.”

“That’s the thing. See, I was planning on asking Viney to the Starlight Festival.” Emira said.

“Isn’t that thing, like, two weeks from now?” Edric questioned.

“Well, better now or never. Probably never.” Emira sighed shakily.

“Look, Em, I know you’re probably in the pit of despair right now, but hear me out. Girls love chivalry. If you wanna win Viney over, just ask her what she likes. Maybe do something sweet or even courageous for her.” Edric said swordfighting his tray of food.

“You know, maybe you’re right. I could ask her where she likes to hang out at, and maybe we could meet there.” Emira replied thoughtfully.

“Uh, great. That’s amazing. Now if you excuse me, I have a—“ Edric said, stabbing his sentient plate of food,”—a situation to deal with.”

Emira smiled. “See ya later!” She said, skipping off.

She strolled up to the trashcan at the front of the cafeteria, and looked down at her plate.

She hadn’t eaten a bite out of her lunch, but that didn’t matter.

All she was hungry for was courage.

She tossed her lunch, plate and all, into the trash, and bounced out the cafeteria doors.

She was determined to ask Viney out, one way or another.

The problem with this?

Viney probably didn’t even know her name.

  
——-

  
“So, in a way, I guess I don’t really wanna ask anyone out the the Starlight Festival. Too much homework. Too much stuff cramming up my life, you know?” Jerbo said, digging a hand into his locker.

“Uh-huh, yep.” Viney said absentmindedly. Her head was somewhere else.

“And I don’t think I’ll be ready for a serious relationship until I’m an adult. I mean, you saw what happened at Grom with that Amity girl. She almost got ripped to pieces because she was afraid of her crush rejecting her! That’s nuts!” Jerbo exclaimed, grabbing a book from his locker’s mouth.

“She could’ve been afraid of literally anything else. Like, I don’t know, spiders or clowns, or even the mortifying ordeal of being known.” Viney replied, shrugging.

“That’s what gets me. The Blights are one of the most prestigious families on the Isles! Not to mention, word has it that Amity’s gonna join the Emperor’s Coven.” Jerbo stated, digging his hand of out his locker.

“True. She should’ve been afraid of being rejected from there.” Viney replied. “But might I ask, have you ever faced rejection before?” 

“Hm. Good point.” Jerbo replied.

“It crushes people. It can undermine reputations. Sometimes it could even be fatal. Love is a strange thing.” Viney sighed, putting her hands on her hips. “And witches tend to be afraid of strange things. What we don’t know.”

Jerbo cringed. “And I’d like it to stay that way.” 

Viney and Jerbo had been standing in the hall, casually chatting for the past few minutes. It’d been about a week since the aftermath of Grom Night, and the halls were filled with chatter about what happened.

Not only had this Grom placed itself as one of the first ever to have a human fighting it, but also as the social event of the year and the topic that echoed the halls of Hexside.

No one could stop talking about Amity’s fear. Why, of all the things a Blight could be afraid of, would she choose rejection of love? Why did that one human girl take her role instead?

And the most burning topic of all:

WHY THE HECK WAS THAT HUMAN GIRL AMITY’S GROM DATE?

Whispers, echoes, chatter, buzz, you name it. No one could stop talking about how Luz offered to be Amity’s date. Maybe it was just a really good friendship. Or maybe...

... something a little more.

Whatever it was, rumors spread like wildfire. 

_Ohmigosh, guys, they’re secretly dating!_

_Dude, are those two girls, like, crushing on each other?_

_I feel a certain romance blossoming..._

Viney’s heard it all. She saw it all. 

But maybe she didn’t care to pay attention to all of it.

She had a certain someone else on her mind.

“So, Vines, did you ask anyone out to Grom?” Jerbo said, snapping Viney out of the daze she’d been in.

“Didn’t plan on it,” Viney responded, regaining focus.

“Were you thinking out asking someone out?” Jerbo asked.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.” Viney retorted.

“Alright then. I’ll keep asking questions until I know. What’s their name?” Jerbo responded condescendingly. 

“That’s code for buzz off. And besides, if I liked someone, it’d be more obvious!” Viney growled, crossing her arms and staring at the bell. Come on, ring already.

RRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGG! (Actually, it didn’t ring, it was kind of more like a scream of pure agony.)

“Okay, but I promise you. If you do like someone, I’m making it my mission to get you to tell me about it.” Jerbo exclaimed, running down the hall to the Abomination class.

“Pfft, sure.” Viney said to herself.

Truth is, she did like someone.

Someone’s she’d never even talked to.

_I mean, I’ve definitely seen Emira around school before, just never bothered to talk to her. I mean, not like she’d want to talk to me anyways. She probably doesn’t even know I exist._

Viney sighed.

_She probably doesn’t even know I exist._

Viney looked around. People were running to get to their classes, so the hallway was pretty empty by now. 

_You know, I don’t have class right now. Maybe I could head out to the courtyard and play a game of fetch with Puddles._

Viney dug a chewed-up trashcan lid out of her bag.

She stared at her reflection in the aluminum, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

She drifted her gaze to her ridiculous hairstyle. 

_You know, maybe I might let my hair down when I get ready for the festival. It’s kind of heavy._

Viney smiled, looking up from the lid and walking out to the courtyard.

  
——-

  
“Okay. She’s probably supposed to head to her healing track by now. If I’m lucky, I can stroll up to her along the way, and initiate a conversation.” Emira whispered smugly. “Then I’ll prepare the wedding.”

“You’re 16, Em.” Edric said, rolling his eyes. “Plus, she might not even be heading to her healing class. I think that teacher is out sick, funny enough.” 

“You think. You don’t actually know that, do you?” Emira said, just a little too loud for her own comfort.

“Well, if you’re already getting into conversation volume, Viney’s right there.” Edric replied, pointing behind Em.

“WUAGH!” Emira shouted, diving behind Ed.

“So, you said you’re planning a wedding, huh?” Edric chuckled. 

“Shut up.” Em deadpanned.

She drifted her gaze back to Viney, who apparently was deaf to the loud shriek Emira produced.

Her fishhook earring jangled as she walked, and her brown bangs bounced with each step she took. That ridiculous hairstyle of hers bounced as she walked too. It looked like it had the slightest chance of falling off her head.

But, what was probably the thing that always got Emira was those big green eyes of hers. They were usually found focused in a book, or a chewed-up dog toy, or a lunch tray. (Uhm, uh, not that Emira knew that or anything.)

Her eyes captured the essence of a thousand green fluorescent forests. Of a thousand summer leaves falling. Of a million emerald lovebirds, singing a midnight harmony to no one but the lonely moon.

Emira sighed dreamily.

“Em, sis, love ya, but can you PLEASE stop hugging my leg?” Ed exclaimed, shaking Emira off of his foot.

Em huffed and got off of the floor. “Well SORRY, I was too busy trying to come out with what I’m supposed to do next."

Ed definitely wasn’t buying any of what Em was saying, but he nodded anyway.

“Yep, by the looks of it, she’s definitely headed out to the courtyard. If you wanna talk to her, then maybe you should follow her now.” Ed said, crossing his arms and leaning on a locker.

“Actually, I have a better idea.” Emira replied, putting her hands together and smiling.

Edric groaned. “Not another idea.”

“I promise! I know exactly what I’m doing.” Emira responded gleefully.

  
——-

  
“This is exactly why I don’t let you have ideas, Em.” Edric sighed dreadfully, looking at the nightmare of a contraption standing in front of him.

“I spent a whole day building this here. Pretty fine craftsmanship, if I do say so myself.” Emira said, patting the structure.

The structure, in question, was a large radio head on a pole, attached to a rod with a seat on it. 

“Let me give you the rundown. Over there, on the bleachers, you’ll see Viney sitting there. She’s obviously tired, and is taking a small break from playing with Puddles, judging by the hose in Puddles’s mouth. When I press the on button on this bad boy, it’ll produce a sound that’ll temporarily distract Viney, and make her look around to check where the noise is coming from.” Emira said, flipping through a few pages from her not-so-secret diary. 

“While she’s distracted, Puddles will run out to the field to play with Viney again. Then, while Viney gets up to go play with Puddles, I jump on this seat, pull the lever, and—“ Emira continued, flipping another page in her book. “—zoom right over to where Viney is, and initiate casual conversation. Easy and done.” 

Edric blinked. “You know, you could just go up to her and talk like a normal person.”

“Ed, oh, sweet Ed, you just don’t get it. Grand entrances are what wins girls over. Isn’t that what your weird book said?” Emira boasted.

“Okay, maybe some of the stuff in there is just a tiny bit outdated. She’ll like it if you just go and talk to her!” Edric replied.

Emira flipped the ‘on’ switch on for the microphone just as he said that.

“What? I’m sorry, I can’t hear you!” Emira yelled, smirking at Edric.

Edric started yelling and throwing his hands up in the air. The only things Emira could decipher were “BAD! DON’T!” 

“I know, this idea probably isn’t so bad, and I won’t regret it if I do it. Thanks for the encouragement!” Emira winked.

Edric continued rambling on.

Puddles heard the noise from across the bleachers and started squawking. She flied back to the field in a panic. 

“Puddles, wait!” Viney shouted, running after the griffin.

“Now’s my chance,” Emira said, hopping on the seat and pulling the lever. 

But instead of stretching out and scooting her right next to Viney, the seat lurched diagonally, jerking Emira forward.

“What the—“ Em yelled, gripping onto the chair, preventing her from flying off.

Then, the seat starting bouncing in every direction, lurching back and forth, and up and down, and side to side, dragging a terrified Emira along with it.

Edric called out to Emira. “Get off of there! It’s gonna break!”

The machine was on fire, and the rod holding the seat Emira was on looked like it was about to snap off.

Emira, meanwhile, was getting thrown in every direction. She held onto the seat for dear life.

Boy, was she glad she didn’t eat lunch, because whatever she would’ve had she would’ve thrown up by now.

Viney turned around to face the chaos that was unfolding on the grudgby yard in front of her. She stood there, mouth wide open, expression stiff.

“HEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPPPPP MEEEEEEEE EDDDDDDRIIIIIIIICCCCCCCC!!” Emira shouted, as the seat shook her up and down like the absolute worst rollercoaster ever.

“I’m coming, Em!” Edric shouted, dashing towards her.

The rod shifted upwards, shaking Emira in the ground above Edric.

“Okay, just jump down, and I’ll catch you!” Ed shouted, holding out his arms and looking above him.

“IIIII CAAAAANNNNTTTT TOOOOOOO SSHHHHAAAAAKKKKKYYYYY!” Emira screamed, holding onto the seat even tighter.

Viney ran over to the yard where Emira was violently being yoted up and down.

“Are you okay?” Viney yelled to Emira.

“YYYEEEEEEEEEESSSSS IIIIII AAAAAAAAAMMMMMMM!” Emira yelled.

“Are you nauseous? Hurt?” Viney shouted, digging out a couple of advanced healing glyphs.

“JUUUUUUSTTTTT NAUUUUUUSEEEEOUUUUSSSSSSS!” Emira screamed back.

“JUST JUMP! I’LL CATCH YOU!” Edric yelled, pacing around, arms still held out.

Viney looked over to the edge of the bleachers.

Whatever contraption stood there was on the brink of being incinerated. Flames surrounded the entire product, and anything that was attached to it was definitely going to break off.

Viney ran over to the structure, but it was too late.

A loud screeching of steel bellowed, then followed by a loud CRACK.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” 

Viney looked back around at the situation unfolding behind her.

The seat stopped shaking and Emira’s gravity instantly kicked in, bringing a swift and heavy WHOOSH as she fell to the ground. 

Unfortunately, Edric was standing below her.

Viney cringed, hearing a loud WHUMP and an agonizing yelp come from the yard.

Also Unfortunately, this was the middle of the grudgby yard. 

A giant circle of flames shot up and encased the twins, and burned the last of the broken structure down.

Viney gasped and headed over to where Ed and Em were. 

She grabbed the charred metal structures and tossed them to the side.

“Are you two okay? You look hurt.”

Edric coughed up some dust. He was covered in soot, and nothing about him was recognizable. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m not shaken up.” Edric replied, getting up off the ground.

Emira coughed and dragged her soot-covered self out from underneath the structure aswell.

Viney noticed her struggling and grabbed her arm to help her get up.

“Hey, are you okay? You look kinda nauseous.” Viney softly said, looking into Emira’s eyes.

“Yeah, I’ll be fi——“ Emira looked at Viney and immediately cut herself off.

_Those green eyes._

_All those forests, those birds, that melody they sang, it all came back to her._

Viney chuckled. 

“By the way you look, it seems as if you might need a little more than a doctor. I can help you, if you want.” She said.

Emira suddenly felt the courage to speak. “Uh-um. Of course!”

“And maybe after that, we could go get some dinner together.” Viney smiled.

_All of a sudden, the birds sang louder, Emira doesn’t feel like the room is spinning anymore, peace breaks out all over the Isles—_

_ATTENTION! EMIRA BLIGHT, PLEASE REPORT BACK TO REALITY!_

—

“Geez, your sister took quite the beating there.” Viney said, pulling out a healing glyph, and sticking it on Emira. “She might not be able to feel her head for a while.” 

Emira fluttered her eyes open. She was still covered in soot, head to toe, but she was alive.

“Hey, Emira! You’re awake! You kinda passed out when you woke up. Viney here said it was because you were really, really nauseous. Luckily, she helped you out.” Edric said.

“Wait, you two are—“ Viney gasped. “No way!”

Edric looked at Viney. “Oh, right. Yeah, you wouldn’t be able to figure it out. Our gorgeous beauty is covered by this ridiculous soot.” Edric said, brushing some of the ash off of his hair.

“So, you’re Edric, right, and you’re—“

Emira shot up from where she was.

“Yes! Emira! Uhm-uh, that’s me!” Emira blurted out, a little too quickly.

Viney chuckled.

“Man, I never thought I’d spend an afternoon sitting with the Blight twins.” She said, pulling out three bright-red lollipops.

“Yeah, sometimes even we forget we’re well known. Between you and me, our parents are just a teensy bit insufferable.” Edric replied, shaking off the rest of that soot he had on him.

“Ah, no need to keep secrets about parents from me. To tell you the truth, I never really knew mine. I live with my uncle.” Viney replied, taking the wrapper off of one of her lollipops and sticking it in her mouth.

“Oh, I’m so sorry for your loss.” Edric replied.

“They’re not dead, I just was, you know, never that close to them. They decided to drop me off on my uncle when I was just a kiddo. They’re probably out somewhere by the head, practicing journalism or whatever.” Viney replied, taking the lollipop out of her mouth and smiling.

“It’s great that you’re close to your uncle. We—our parents don’t really appreciate us.” Edric said.

Emira looked up and sighed. “What Edric means to say is that our parents don’t really value who we are, but what we’re worth. To them, we’re worth a spot in the Emperor’s Coven, or about 800 million snails.” 

“That sounds rough. My uncle’s said before that I’m priceless. Nothing in the world could buy me from him. Must suck knowing your parents have calculated your worth.” Viney said, handing a lollipop to both Emira and Edric.

“It’s not that bad. We have a pretty nice house to live in, amazing social statuses, and almost complete control over anyone on the Boiling Isles.” Edric said, sticking a lollipop in his mouth. 

“But that’s kind of us saying it.” Emira interrupted. By now, she was not only sitting up, but the soot that covered her had blown away. Her bandaged fingers struggled to open the lollipop wrapper.

Viney gently took the lollipop from Emira and unwrapped it, then handed it back to her. “What do you mean that’s only you two saying it?” 

Emira stared at the lollipop for a second, then shook back to reality. “I kinda feel like Amity has a much harder time than us. Our parents are way more strict on her than me and Ed.”

“Me and Em both get perfect scores on all of our exams. We both attend every class on time. We’re both exceeding our parents’ expectations. But Amity...” Edric sighed.

“I guess you could say Amity gets the special treatment, in a way. She’s the one our parents had their hopes pinned on to join the Emperor’s Coven. Not only that, but basic magic doesn’t come as easy to her. She has to use a training wand.” Emira continued, shoving the lollipop in her mouth.

“So the rumors are true.” Viney said.

“Absolutely. Amity works hard. Harder than both me and Em combined. She never gives up once she’s made up her mind. For a 14 year old, she’s one stubborn person.” Edric stated, rolling his eyes.

“And her revenge is like a nightmare. One time, we found out that she had this really hilarious crush on Malin Gael, and drew herself nonstop with her. Pfft, we published all of the pages she drew up around Hexside.” Emira snorted.

“Then, within a week, we had not only managed to find our beds soaked with spider milk every time we went to sleep, but there was around 18 snakes, 29 ants, 13 spiders dangling over our faces as we slept...” Edric recounted.

“To sum it up, we had one very difficult week. Luckily, we ended up apologizing to her and all of the horrors mysteriously vanished.” Emira said, smiling. “We’ve actually been super nice to her recently to make up for this one prank we tried to pull on her.” 

“And what was it?” Viney asked, very intrigued by this point.

“Well, Amity’s kinda a snitch. Me and Em tend to get ourselves into-uh, trouble, sometimes, and, you know, Amity catches us. A lot. And we thought that if we got Amity back for it just this one time—that she’d stop snitching on us so much.” Edric said, obviously trying to avoid the word ‘trouble’.

“So we did what any normal pair of older siblings would do. We stole her diary to post the pages around Hexside for the world to see. Well, we didn’t really actually steal it.” Emira responded, taking the lollipop out of her mouth. “Her friend Luz stopped us from getting the pages, and also her herself. Me and Ed both figured that if the week we’d posted her Y/N Malin Gael fanart around school was that bad, then maybe we should try avoiding any possible revenge by being as nice as possible.” 

“Yeah, I would figure. I’d be pretty mad if someone tried doing that to me too,” Viney replied.

“Well, I mean, me and Em don’t know if that Luz girl IS her friend or not. From what we know, Amity-kinda-sorta-maybe wanted to murder her, then it was like she kinda-sorta-maybe tolerated her, and now they’re kinda-sorta-maybe friends?” Edric said, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ve actually met Luz before. She helped me, Jerbo, and Barkus get enrolled in multiple tracks. She’s pretty awesome.” Viney replied.

“Amity probably doesn’t think Luz is just amazing. You’ve heard the buzz around, right?” Emira asked Viney.

“Oh, yeah. Apparently Amity asked Luz to Grom and she accepted. Everyone’s got their own theories on what happened, but the biggest rumor is is that Amity’s got a crush on her.” Viney answered.

“Wait, WHAT? Our little sis likes someone?” Edric exclaimed happily.

“It’s a theory, Ed. We don’t know for sure if she likes her. And plus, if mom and dad find out even a word about this—“ Emira interrupted.

“Right. Amity’s got herself deep in a hole of trouble that nothing can get her out of now.” Edric responded. Then he froze.

He and Em really just told Viney about all of that. All of that personal stuff. To a person they’ve never even talked to.

  
One look on Em’s face and he could tell she shared the same expression.

It went silent.

  
—

  
Emira was just only now starting to notice the sun had already started setting. The sky had turned darker hues of purple, orange, and red, painting the clouds with splotches of peachy orange. 

“Hey, Viney, how long have we been on these bleachers for?” Emira asked, her mind distant. 

“A while now. Six hours, to be precise. It took you a long while to wake up.” 

_SIX HOURS?!_

“Yep. Mom and dad are probably waiting for us at home, as well as Amity. She’s probably already waiting there to bust us for being late. We should probably get going.” Edric said, getting up from the bench.

“Yeah. Em, you should probably be able to get the feeling back in your legs by now.” Viney said, pointing to the six or seven healing glyphs stuck to Emira’s legs.

“I wonder what excuse we’re gonna have to come up with now to justify to Amity why we’re late.” Emira chuckled, getting up from the bleachers.

“We could just tell her that a ravenous dragon attacked us and ate some of our homework,” Edric replied, shrugging.

Viney got up and walked over to pet Puddles, who’d been sitting behind her this entire time. “Well, I guess I should be heading home too. My uncle’s probably worried sick about me.” 

Viney looked behind her and smiled at Ed and Em. “So, does this make us, like, friends or whatever?” 

Emira looked at Edric, and nodded. “We probably, like, can’t tell anyone else that we’re friends with you, but I guess that means we are.” 

“Great.” Viney said, clicking a leash over Puddles’s neck and looking behind her. “One other thing. Hey, Emira, was it?” 

Emira nearly choked.

“Uh, yeah, that’s me.” 

“I like your eyes. They’re pretty.” Viney grinned, and lept off of the bleaches, Puddles in tow. 

Emira would’ve stayed frozen where she was had Edric not dragged her by the arm.

“Come on lovebird, let’s get you back home.” He said, rolling his eyes.

“She said my eyes were preeeetyy~~~” Emira drooled, sinking her head back.

  
——-

  
“Hey! I’m home!” Viney yelled, closing the wooden door behind her.

The sun had mostly set by now, and all that was left of any trace of sunlight was a deep orange spilling over the trees. From the looks of the sky, Viney could tell that it was going to be a clear sky for tonight.

Puddles scratched at the door, whining to come in.

Viney turned around and sighed. “Puddles, for the last time, I can’t let you in. Uncle Veda’s kind of allergic to—“

“ACHOO!” 

“Did you bring that griffin around here, Viney?” 

Viney sighed. “Puddles follows me home every night. I make sure she’s safe outside. No need to worry.”

“Well, I am worried. Where have you been?” Uncle Veda asked, walking up to the front door where Viney was standing.

“I stayed a bit late at the grudgby yard to help some girl out. She got injured by some weird contraption. Sorry.” Viney answered, and for the first time in six hours, she started to wonder what the heck that thing that hurt Emira was, and what it was supposed to do in the first place.

“Well, if you wanted to know, I made dinner for you. It’s out on the table. I would say to eat it before it gets cold, but I’m pretty sure it’s already freezing by now.” Veda said, walking to a near the back of the house. “I’ll be in my study if you need me.” 

“Hey, Uncle, I wanted to ask you something. Do you, by any chance, know anything about the Blight family?” Viney shouted to Veda, obviously avoiding the topic of what Em and Ed had said to her earlier.

“Well, if you want a history lesson, I can give you that. They’re one of the longest-standing families on the Isles. Their blood runs back millennia, and traces to some of the most powerful witches to ever exist! Not to mention the wealth and political power they hold.” Veda answered, obviously jumping at the chance to give Viney a history lecture.

“Are they, by any chance, affiliated with the Emperor’s Coven?” Viney asked.

“Well, now that I think about it, I’ve never heard of any Blight family member being in the EC. For the most part, they’ve been powerful Coven leaders and rogue witches, but I’ve never heard of one being in the actual top coven.” Veda responded.

_So that’s how much pressure Amity has on her shoulders._

“That seems kind of weird.” Viney said.

“It is, indeed. Name any other prestigious family. The Cardellos, the Ortholans, The Rhodonites, or the Striates. They all have at least one blood related member of the family that has been or was in the EC. Pretty strange to see that no Blight has done that yet.” Uncle Veda answered, walking back to his study.

“Well, I guess so. Thanks for dinner, Uncle.” Viney said, moving over to the table to look at her freezing plate of food.

“No problem, sweetie,” And then Viney heard the study door close.

Puddles probably already found the bale of wheat left for her outside to eat. Viney could hear scratching against hay from the outside.

She sighed, and grabbed her plate, carrying it with her upstairs and to her room.

It was a small, box-like space. To Viney, it was the coziest place to be.

A small bed, littered with books and journals sat next to the wall on Viney’s left. A rug covered the rickety wooden floor, splattered with stains that had collected there over the years. The room was lined with fairy lights, dim and fading, but still working.

A desk sat in front of the window, books scattered across its surface. 

Viney loved sitting at that desk. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that every book she wanted to read was on there, or if the stool next to it was comfortable to sit in.

Or maybe it’s because she’d sit there, and look out the window.

Her house, an apartment-like structure squished in with others like it, was placed somewhere in central Bonesborough, near the town square. 

Essentially, every night Viney looked out her window, she could see for miles and miles out in the city, or maybe even as far as to the outskirts next to the sea. 

And on clear nights like this, she could look up into the sky, and see the shine of a million stars, glittering around a pale blue moon. 

Her window didn’t need curtains, just the pane, the handle, and the view of the city.

Maybe to an ordinary person, this room would look like any other run down hovel.

But to Viney? It was home.

She set down her dinner on her desk, and sat on the stool.

The sun had fully set by now, pulling a cover adorned with a million stars and a moon over its head.

Each star, twinkling and bright, intertwined by invisible strings that witches would call constellations. They each formed a set shape. Some like magic glyphs. Others like runic symbols, or maybe even the eight magic creatures, Viney’s favorite being the star-toed griffin.

Any time now, the stars that bedazzled the sky would slowly start to increase in number and visibility. As the Starlight Festival fell quicker upon the Isles, the magic present across it was bound to become more powerful. 

Viney had read somewhere that the magic emanating from this change would instantly boost the casting power of Illusionists, Oracles, and Bards.

But for right now, even without someone knowing the magic this change contains, it was entrancing to look at.

Viney gazed at the sky dreamily, one of her hands holding her chin up, her free hand holding a pencil.

She was going to try charting more constellations down, but her mind was somewhere else.

Somewhere else being Emira.

The image of her waving away at the bleachers kept replaying over and over again in Viney’s mind. 

How her hair gently swayed to the wind. How her face expressed probably the slightest bit of playfulness, mostly overshadowed by friendliness.

And her eyes.

Her eyes captured the essence of a thousand golden fields. Of a million sunkissed butterflies fluttering with the wind. Of a sunset, so perfect and young, of a fleeting dream, a tune endless and so vivid, that no other could compare.

Viney sighed dreamily.

_At least I can say I’ve talked to her. I’m even friends with her now! I mean, that’s amazing!_

Amazing.

Emira was _amazing._

Viney rolled her eyes and broke her focus from looking out at the sky.

She stared down at the floor, where loud snoring broke the peaceful silence of the house.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, Uncle Veda had fallen asleep in his study.

Viney smiled. 

_You know, maybe I could ask Emira out to the festival._

_If I get the confidence to._

_Which I probably don’t have any._

Viney got up off of the stool and walked over to her bed.

And she fell right on top of it, books and all.

“Maybe I’ll ask her out,” Viney repeated to herself, before proceeding to pass out.

The plate lay full on her dresser, but the only thing Viney was hungry for was courage.

  
——-

  
The sun rose over the Isles.

And at Blight Manor, it shimmered through the windows.

And it also shone right in Emira’s eyes, cueing her to wake up.

She rose off of her pillow, stretching.

She let out a loud yawn, letting her unbraided green hair fall down her shoulders and back, flowing down to the bed.

She put her hands down on her bed and opened her eyes, taking a moment to adjust to the brightness of her room.

The surprising brightness. Emira hadn’t recalled leaving the lights on last night.

Nor had she recalled her curtains being tied to the side. 

“Hey, you’re finally awake.”

Emira nearly shot off of her bed.

She snapped her head around to the right of her.

Edric was standing there, in her room, fully dressed and ready to go to Hexside.

“EDRIC—WHA—HOW—“ Emira stuttered. Her face was a mix between ‘DID I DIE?!’ and ‘SOMEONE WILL DIE.’.

“Your anger is highly reasonable, Emira. You are shocked at the presence of your brother being in your room at...” Edric said, checking his watch. “7:30 in the morning.”

“Shocked doesn’t begin to describe it,” Emira retorted, pulling the sheets out from her way and getting off of her canopy bed. “What are you even doing in my room? Why are you here?” 

“Simple. It’s been exactly 2 days, 13 hours, 18 minutes and 16 seconds since you last talked to Viney. I’ve been crunching the numbers, Em.” Edric stated.

“Yeah, I get it. You’re a nerd. And?” Emira growled, brushing off her night gown.

“Well, I’ve decided to step in and help you win over Emira. I decided that after your crazy, dangerous, totally unpredictable and highly idiotic plan failed, that I’d take the reins this time.” Edric replied calmly, obviously ignoring the fact that he just insulted an already tired 16 year old.

Emira’s eye twitched.

She was mad, but tried to stay very, very calm.

“And what part of this genius plan involves me waking up at 7 in the morning?” She asked, almost sarcastically.

“The part where we practice how to talk to girls. Get dressed. We’re heading to Hexside.” Edric commanded, marching out of Emira’s room and shutting the door behind him. 

Emira stood there, frothingly mad.

In only a period of a few minutes, her brother had managed to escalate her anger to the point of where she was ready to punch a witch. (Well, that’s not the word she had in mind, but let’s keep this story PG-rated.)

“I’m going to kill him unless he has a REALLY good explanation for what the heck he’s up to.” Emira gritted through her teeth, grabbing her neatly folded Hexside uniform from her drawer.

  
——-

  
“Alright, what is it you got planned now?” Emira asked, strolling to the wooded area next to hexside. She had a look of ‘I’m going to murder you if you don’t explain what’s going on’ on her face.

“Well, I’ve decided. Em, you’re going to ask Viney out like a normal person.” Edric replied, pulling out a couple of cards from his bag.

“What’s with those cards? I can talk to her myself, you know.” Emira said, rolling her eyes.

“Em, you’re a terrible liar.” Edric retorted, stacking the cards in an orderly and neat way. “Any other questions?”

“Yeah. Why’d you have to wake me up at 7 in the morning?” Emira questioned, sitting down on a stump.

“Well, if we wanted to get in some practice before school started, we should try practicing right now while we still have an hour left.” Edric replied, sitting on the ground.  
  
As of currently, the sun hadn't completely risen over the Isles yet, which means the sky still had a tinge of lilac and yellow to it.   
  
Emira was still adjusting her eyes to the light outside. She hadn't completely woken up yet.  
  
"Right. So, what's the first thing you wanted to teach me?" Emira said, and for the first time since they'd gotten to the woods her tone wasn't filled with venom.  
  
"Conversation starters. When you first go up to a person, you should introduce yourself casually. Say something like 'Hey!' or "Hello!'." Edric stated, eyes glued to the cards he was holding in his hands. "Now, you try."  
  
Emira cleared her throat. "Hey! You know, it's been a while since we last talked, Viney."   
  
"That's a good start." Edric replied, flipping to another card in the pile. "Now that you've said your greeting, it's time to slowly coast over to the topic of asking Viney out to the festival."  
  
"Ed, how long did you spend writing these cards?" Emira asked, noting that there was at least 70 in the stack Edric was holding.  
  
"A few weeks. I figured that the instant you started seriously crushing on Viney, I'd start helping you out on how to talk to her so that you don't look like a complete dimwit. You're welcome." Edric replied, not looking up from his cards.  
  
"So you had known I liked Viney before I told you." Emira replied, sighing.  
  
"You're not that hard to read, Em." Edric stated. "Anything else?"  
  
"Proceed with your lesson, Ed." Emira replied.  
  
"Now, repeat after me. So, you know that Starlight Festival that's going on?" Edric said.  
  
"Hey, Viney. So, um, you know that Starlight Festival that's going on?" Emira groaned.  
  
"And, that's about it. Then you ask her if she wants to go with you. Simple and easy." Edric smiled.  
  
"That took about 5 minutes, Ed. In fact, I could probably head home right now and catch a few more Zs in if I run.." Emira observed, looking back at the direct she and Ed had come through.  
  
"I know. Now just to practice that about, say, 300 more times." Edric replied.  
  
Emira stared at him.  
  
"It's so that you don't forget what you're gonna say when you get distracted by those pretty eyes of hers." Edric stated, flipping through his cards and clearing his throat again. "Now, from the top."  
  
Emira put her head in her hands and let out a long and raspy "UGH".  


—

  
By now, the words Edric had been saying to Emira had completely been flushed out of her mind space.

By now, it’d been about an hour since Ed forced her out of bed and to Hexside to give her vocal lessons.

Emira had only been repeating what she was hearing. None of it ever reached her.

Which is probably a good thing, because had it done that, she would’ve wrung Edric’s neck by now.

She looked off into the distance while Edric rambled on.

As of now, the sun had fully risen over the Isles, casting shadows on the trees, shading over Ed and Em.

People were already starting to gather at the entrance to Hexside. Chatter loomed around the front steps as students started to walk in.

“Hey, are you still with me here?” Edric said.

Right. Emira figured he’d notice she’d been zoning out for a while now.

“Yeah, I mean—I’ve been hearing what you’ve been saying for a while now. Look, Ed, I don’t know if this is gonna even work out.” Emira said, sighing.

“My plan or this whole ask-Viney-out-thing in general?” Edric asked.

“I guess maybe this whole thing. Maybe Viney really only sees me as a friend. I shouldn’t blindly hope she’ll accept it if I ask her out to the festival.” Emira replied, crossing her arms.

“Em, you really shouldn’t talk like that. It was only two days ago that you nearly got yourself killed because you wanted to talk to Viney. It doesn’t matter whether you achieved the end goal, but more about the steps you took to get there.” Edric said, smiling.

“I guess you have a point.” Emira replied.

“Oh, and if you DID mean to insult my plan, I’ll remind you that it was only two days ago that you nearly got yourself killed because you wanted to talk to Viney.” Edric smirked.

Emira rolled her eyes.

“If you’re done reminiscing now, we have school to get to. Everyone’s probably already there by now.” Emira said, getting up off of the stump and brushing her Hexside uniform off.

“Good point. And, Emira?” Edric asked, getting off of the grassy spot where he was sitting.

“Yeah, Ed?” Emira replied.

“I’m gonna make sure you ask Viney out to the Starlight Festival by the end of today. Got it?” Edric said, putting his cards back in his bag.

Emira was pretty sure Edric saw her gulp.

“Uh-huh, yep. Got it.” Emira responded, walking out of the woods and over to the front entrance of Hexside. 

She put a hand to her forehead and groaned.

_By the end of today._

_How am I supposed to ask Viney out by the end of the day?_

But that wasn’t for Emira to decide.

Because it wasn’t her making that decision at this point.

  
——-

  
Emira nervously tapped her hands on a locker, leaning back on it and sighing dreadfully.

“Edric, you’re supposed to be here by now..” She grumbled, looking at the time on her scroll.

_3:30 P.M._

“Hey, Em! Sorry I’m late! I got held back by some extra credit homework stuff.” Edric yelled, dashing over to where Emira was.

“Don’t lie. You were putting graffiti on some freshman’s locker, weren’t you?” Emira questioned, crossing her arms.

“Shh, sis, you know how the principal feels about that stuff—he can’t hear about that, you know!” Edric shushed.

“Then why are you doing it?” Emira asked.

“‘Cause it’s fun. Why else?” Edric joked.

“Ugh, there’s no use arguing with you anyways. Have you seen Viney get out of class yet?” Emira asked, looking over at the door to the healing class.

“Nope. If she’s not being assigned any extra work, then she should be out in about 2 more minutes, give or take.” Edric said, peering over at the door as well. “That gives us just enough time to practice what you’re gonna say to Viney.” 

“I think I’m fine, Ed. You’ve already gone over it with me a few hundred times already.” Emira said, smiling painfully.

“Alright, but remember, say that and nothing else. Got it?” Edric replied.

“Got it.” Emira said, just as the healing class door opened and Viney came strolling out.

“Now’s your chance, Em. Go up to her!” Edric said, giving Emira a little nudge in the shoulder, prompting her to step out of the vicinity of the lockers.

Emira looked around and gulped.

_I’m on my own now. No one to help me from here._

_You could get swallowed up whole by the ground at this point,_ Emira thought. _Actually, maybe I want to get swallowed up whole by the ground. It’d give me a good excuse not to talk to Vine—_

“Hey! Emira, was it? How’s it going?” 

Emira snapped her head around to see Viney standing next to her.

Emira visibly jumped back, before clearing her throat.

_Remember what Ed said to you._

_It doesn’t matter if you achieved the end goal, but the steps you took to do it._

Emira took a shaky breath.

“Hey, Viney. Yeah—uh—I’m doing great today, thanks for asking.” Emira said.

Edric did a little cheer. He was watching this unfold from afar.

“Alright, now, ask her the question.” Edric said, anxiously awaiting what Emira would do next.

Emira cleared her throat.

“So—um—uh—you know—Starlight Festival—you know—date?” Emira stuttered.

Edric facepalmed in the distance.

“Er, um, yeah, some people definitely take dates to the festival, if that’s what you mean.” Viney said. (She had a solid look of ??? on her face. If there’s a text translation of that, you can probably get what I’m saying.) 

“Look—um—okay, uh—did—you—did you know that, um, the festival makes illusionists more powerful?” Emira said, hiding her sweaty hands behind her back.

“Yeah. That’s pretty neat. Although, I’d prefer it if it made healers more powerful.” Viney said, thoughtfully.

“Well, look! Um—I’m pretty proficient in illusion magic as is—Pfft, I don’t need a stupid festival to help me! Look!” Emira awkwardly boasted.

Emira waved her hand to cast an illusion spell, but instead of a blue wave of stars appearing over her and Viney’s heads, she made her face disappear. 

“MMMMMMRFFFF! MRRRRRRRFFFFFF!” Emira’s screams were muffled by her absence of a mouth. She started falling back, and accidentally stepped in one of the janitor’s buckets, sliding across the hall and nearly toppling off balance as she hit from locker to locker.

“Emira! Hold on!” Viney shouted, running after her.

(Essentially, what you see here is Emira experiencing the real life equivalent of a pinball game. The ‘DING’ noise will sound every time she hits a peg that prevents her from reaching from the peak of success. DING!)

Emira slammed against locker after locker, speeding down the halls at incredible speeds. Her muffled screams added to the clutter and clamor of her skiing don the halls on a mop bucket.

Edric ran after her, panicking. “EM! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” 

Edric waved his hand, drawing a glyph circle, hoping to death that this would work.

Emira gasped, now aware of the fact that she had a mouth again. 

She opened her eyes.

Unfortunately, even with her face back, she was going to crash right into the gymnasium door.

The mop bucket she was riding in was going at incredible speeds.

Emira turned around, and saw that both Viney and Edric were running after her.

“GUYS! HELP MEEEE!” Emira screamed, trying to scrape her foot against the floor to stop her descent to the gym door. Unfortunately, that didn’t work.

Emira, instead of impacting the front door to the gym, the speed of the bucket tore it open and sent her flying to the stage.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Emira screamed as her bucket smashed against the wooden platform, lurching her over the edge and sliding her across the stage.

Viney and Edric rushed in after her, terrified looks on both of their faces.

“EMIRA!” Edric shouted, leaping onto the stage and helping Em get up. “What were you THINKING?!” 

Emira coughed, and smirked. “I was improvising. Pretty cool, right?” She said, winking.

“COOL? YOU COULD’VE GOTTEN KILLED FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS WEEK! You should’ve followed the pointers I gave you on how to talk to Viney!” Edric replied, rubbing his hands against his forehead.

“What’s this about talking to me?” Viney asked, finally arriving on the stage. She walked over to where Em was, and crouched down.

Emira found herself gripping on the words Edric had taught her over and over. She had them on the tip of her tongue, but for some reason, she kept bumbling and stuttering on her words. 

Edric motioned to Emira. “Ask her.” He gestured nervously.

Emira cleared her throat.

“Are you hurt in any way?” Viney asked, touching a finger to Emira’s hand.

“Uh—I’m fine! And—In that fact, I kinda wanted to ask you something.” Emira said sheepishly.

“Yeah?” Viney said, smiling.

“Um—Well-“ Emira stuttered, distracted by Viney’s smile.

_Snap out of it! Just spit it out!_

“Will you go out with me?” Emira blurted out.

Viney stood there for a second.

Her face looked like a mix between confusion and disassociation.

“Like, as in a date?” Viney finally asked.

“Uh—I mean, if that’s what you want it to be.” Emira replied, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand shyly.

“I mean, sure. Whaddya say about Saturday night?” Viney replied, getting up from the stage.

“That—that would be nice. Yeah.” Emira replied.

“Seeya then, Em.” Viney waved, walking out of the gym.

Emira sighed dreamily.

“I’m going on a date.. with Viney.” She said, grinning.

She paid no attention to the fact that Edric was frothingly mad, and standing beside her.

“Well, Ed, I guess your plan really did kinda work out. Good thinking.” Emira said, looking at Edric and smiling.

Edric decided he’d tell her off later. He sighed. “Well, it’s all in a day’s work. Now, we should probably get home before Amity busts us AGAIN.” 

“Yeah. I guess so.” Emira said, getting up and walking off of the stage. “And thanks for giving me my face back, too.” She said, without batting an eye to Edric.

“It’s no biggie, honestly.” Edric said.

And of course, he was lying, which was the one thing he was terrible at.

  
——-

  
Emira looked around the central square of Bonesborough, hands in her pockets.

“You know, Ed, I’ve been thinking. If I’m gonna ask Viney out to the festival, I’m gonna have to wear something to impress her.” Emira said, looking around at all the shops.

“Why would you need to impress her? She literally works with feral beasts, Em. Just you asking her out is enough to make her astounded.” Edric replied. 

“Well, if you want to go in and head back to the manor, then that’s fine. But I’m not going until I find something to wear that Viney would like.” Emira retorted, dashing over to a store window to observe another item.

“Fine, lovebird. You’ve gotten pretty far in your goal. I guess I could help you pick something out.” Edric replied, shrugging.

“Thanks, Ed. Now, what do you think Viney would like? I was thinking something sparkly, like, uh, maybe a miner’s helmet covered in jewels?” Emira said, thoughtfully.

“I don’t think it should be something specific, Em. It has to be something that calls to you. Like, I don’t know, fate? Destiny? A horse?” Edric replied.

Emira turned around to face the crowd. “If destiny really struck us right now, we wouldn’t be having this problem.” She said, sighing.

Just then, clouds started moving in overhead. The sky darkened, and so did the square.

“Oh boy. Are you kidding me? Boiling rain?” Edric huffed, looking at the sky, and putting his hands on his hips.

Emira looked at the sky for a bit, and then looked back at the crowd in front of them.

The people noticed the sky too, and the crowd immediately started breaking apart, rushing to get to their houses before the rain struck.

A line of stores came into view, as the crowd slowly started disappearing. 

One in particular caught Emira’s eye. Reflecting in the window was a white glimmer, shining and sparkling amongst the darkened area.

Emira nudged Edric’s shoulder. “Hey, you might wanna see this.” 

Edric looked down from the sky and gasped, looking at the item in the window. “It’s.. beautiful.”

Emira looked up frantically. “And if we wanna get it before it rains out here, we’ll have to run!”

“Okay. On three. One, two—And she’s off.” Edric’s counting was interrupted by Emira dashing full speed ahead to go get the dress.

Edric rolled his eyes, sighed, and ran after her.

—

Emira threw the store’s door open.

“HOW MUCH IS THE THINGAMAJIG IN THE WINDOW WORTH?!” She yelled, frightening whoever was at the cashier’s counter.

“Uh-uhm—hello, it’s um—“ A shy and timid voice came from the counter, and a small mouse-like witch with glasses rose up to type on the register. “—About 15,000 snails.” 

“Well? What are you standing for? Take my money, I’m getting that thing!” Emira shouted, slamming a bag of money on the table and dashing towards the window stand.

“Uh-uhm—“ The mouse person squeaked, terrified for their life.

Edric burst through the door and rushed to the counter, panting. “I’m—so sorry about my sister—she’s a bit—much—“ He panted.

“No worries. I’ll just drown out the pain with some night juice when I get home.” The cashier said.

“Wait, what?” Edric replied.

“Oh, nothing. You probably should go check on your sister.” The cashier blurted, hiding behind the register.

Edric nodded, and strolled over to where Emira was.

“Oh my...” Emira cooed, picking up the white thing.

“Em, what are you so in awe about?” Edric asked.

“Look.” Emira turned around, and showed it to Edric.

The ‘thing’ in question was a silky white chiffon, bedazzled with diamonds, opals, and pearls. Even without an illusionist’s aura cast around it, it’d still create enough light to reflect on any crystalline surface.

Emira wrapped it around her shoulders, spinning around and admiring how it looked on her.

“It’s amazing. I think Viney’s gonna love it.” Emira said, smiling.

Edric grinned. “I don’t think that’s gonna impress her, but you do you. Now, if you’re done modeling, we have to run back to the manor before it rains.” 

“Well then, what are you waiting for? Come on!” Emira shouted, making an L sign with her fingers and bolting out the store’s door.

“Oh, you are so on!” Edric yelled back, running after her.

The cashier crawled out from under the desk, and scanned around the room.

“I hate retail," They squeaked.

  
——-

  
Viney opened the door to her room.

It’s just the same as it always is. Open window, messy rug, messy bed.

She strolled in, and fell on her bed, avoiding the journals and pencils she had lying on there.

Viney look up and smiled, seeing the starry illuminosity filter off of the rain clouds.

It’d been raining hard earlier. Luckily, the ridiculous awning roof over Viney’s apartment had prevented any rain from falling into her room.

But she wasn’t smiling because of that.

Up until this point, Viney didn’t think that Emira acknowledged her existence or even shared the same feelings that Viney had for her.

But now, Viney was over the moon.

She was going on a date with the girl of her dreams. I mean, how could she not be?

But Viney knew she definitely had to keep it together. She didn’t want to make a complete fool out of herself in front of Emira.

But..

..Emira’s already made a complete fool out of herself for Viney.

Viney rolled her eyes and smiled anyways.

She could hear snoring from the study, so obviously, Uncle Veda was asleep. 

_One day,_ Viney thought to herself.

One day ‘til her date with Em.

  
.+* •————-• *+.

  
Saturday night.

It’s as clear as anything, and starry lights lined the sky. 

So many wishes, dreams, loves and hopes could be carried about and twirled by the gentle wind of the Isles. Everyone, everybody is doing something on this night.

And everyone, everybody is doing it under the same set of stars.

Funny, isn’t it?

No matter where you’d go, everyone would be doing different things under the same sky.

Every stargazer would be dreamily gazing, every sleeper asoundly sleeping, every hopeless romantic yearning dazily. They’re all covered by the same blanket of summer night.

  
The stars shimmered down on Blight Manor. 

And Emira, who maybe-kinda-sorta was distracted gazing at the stars, sighed dreamily.

The wind that carried wishes and dreams blew tonight, making her unbraided hair swish gently to the wind.

The chiffon tied neatly around her arms dazzled too. Its adornments, as well as the illusionist’s aura cast around it gave it an etherial gleam.

This was it.

Emira had been spending the past few nights planning for this very day. 

All of her hours of planning resulted in one amazing act of strength. 

And, admittedly, idiocy.

Emira had specially reserved a date spot in Fishman Park just for this night with Viney.

In that fact, she had chosen Fishman Park because of the Ursabeest that lived in a cave in the forest next to it.

Emira’s plan was to run into the forest, taunt the Ursabeest, and tame it, right in front of Viney, with Edric’s help.

(I wasn’t lying when I said idiocy.)

If all went well, then Viney would be so impressed that she’d have to accept Emira’s invitation to be her date to the festival.

Emira broke her gaze from the window and turned around, looking around her room.

The only lights that were on was a small Oracle Ball, which shone a lovely violet.

Emira smiled.

“Hopefully, by now, Edric should be ready.” She said to herself, and strolled towards her room’s door, turning the knob and opening it. 

Emira stepped out into the hall, and looked around.

“Edric? Are you ready yet?” Emira called out.

Edric’s door creaked open.

“Hey, Ed! I’m in a little bit of a rush to get to the park, are you sure you can—hey, why aren’t you dressed yet?” Emira asked.

Edric stood there, in his usual outfit.

If anything, Emira had at least expected him to put a tie on. 

Edric sighed.

“Emira, I’m sorry, but I really can’t go with you.” Edric said, crossing his arms.

“What? Why? I thought you were totally on board with this whole thing. You know, getting me to ask out Viney.” Emira replied. Her blue strapless dress swished as she put her hands on her hips.

“Look, Em, about what you did earlier. I just—I tried to help you ask out Viney, you know. I helped your practice talking to her. I even went along with your weird contraption thingey. But, Emira, you just did your own thing. Even after I helped you practice talking to Viney, you still almost got killed.” Edric said, sighing a heavy breath.

“Ed—“ Emira replied, a look of concern on her face.

“If you want to do your own thing—If you want to get yourself killed, that’s completely fine. But I don’t have to stick around and watch you do it.” Edric interrupted, his tone souring.

“Ed, look, I’m sorry, okay? I just—this is really big for me, you know!” Emira replied, trying to reach out to Edric.

“I know this is big for you. Just don’t drag me into it, okay? No hard feelings.” Edric stated. He turned around, went into his room, and closed the door. 

Emira stood there, legs shaking. She was on the brink of tears.

Emira didn’t know Edric felt this way about her doing this. About her improvising. 

But Edric had a reason to be mad. Livid, even. 

Emira sighed, and she felt tears rolling down her face.

She wiped her cheek with her hand, and started walking towards the front door.

Whatever it was that was pulling Emira in the direction of the stairwell, she didn’t care.

If Edric wasn’t going to help her, then so be it.

She was doing this solo.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t doing well at hiding her sobbing. 

Her cries echoed throughout the halls as she made her way to the stairwell, her dress swishing at her knees as she speedwalked. (Speedwalking is probably the wrong word to use in this case. It was probably more like ran.)

Everything felt like a blur from that point on. One minute, Emira was walking down the stairwell, the next, she was closing the front door behind her.

Somehow she’d managed to evade her mom and dad’s gaze as they played their game of magic chess in the living room. They’d kill her if they knew where she was going.

Emira looked out at the path leading down to the city of Bonesborough. By this point, it’d take about 15 minutes to get to Fishman Park from where she was.

She totally wasn’t calculating the amount of time it’d take to get there because she was hoping Edric would change his mind and follow her. (Totally—totally not! Why-why would you assume that?)

Emira sighed, and stepped off of the front deck of the manor. Her gaze drifted to the lights of the city.

As one wise witch might have said, “Up close, the Isles may be slimy, and stinky, but when you really look closely, you’ll find even the most beautiful things exist among the chaos.”

Emira smiled through her tears.

And, she took the next few steps, and started her walk to Fishman park.

  
——-

  
To Emira, everything felt sped up, like someone was pushing the fast forward button on everyone but her. 

People zoomed by, stands became a blur, everything felt fuzzy and aching.

Emira felt fuzzy and aching. By now, she’d given up crying. Edric obviously wasn’t going to follow her.

So she guessed everything outside of her moved a million miles an hour. 

Emira stepped through the gate of Fishman Park, 15 minutes later.

Fishman Park is absolutely gorgeous at night, which is a statement when you’re on the Boiling Isles. Red and orange lanterns marked grassy pathways, lined with tables in chairs. A forest stood off in the distance, circling around the park, encasing it in everorange trees.

It’s almost like it’s a separate world from the Isles entirely.

Emira looked around and sighed. 

Viney was probably already waiting at the table they’d reserved.

But Emira had something to do before she could sit down and enjoy a nice meal.

In that fact, she wasn’t even sure she was going to be able to enjoy that nice meal.

Emira spotted Viney sitting at the reserved table, head leaning against her arms.

_Not yet, Viney._

_You’ll like this._

Emira smiled and looked towards the direction where the grassy clearing faded into the forest.

She snuck past the bushes of the clearing and dove into the trees.

And once she got up, she headed deeper into the forest.

—

A loud snore could be heard from the cave.

Emira smirked. She’d found the Ursabeest.

The legends say, that deep, deep within the forests of Bonesborough, there was a mythical illusion-like creature, known as the Ursabeest. This beast outlives any trace of Belos and the end of the Savage Ages. 

The creature was as big as a mansion. Like, a small mansion, but still a mansion. 

Starry white dots were speckled across its fur, dotted and matted across black fur. The beast had claws sharp enough to rip apart any unsuspecting demon.

Unfortunately, Emira didn’t care. 

That beast was going to be the key ingredient in getting Viney to be her date to the Starlight Festival.

So, in a way, I guess you could say that Emira’s hubris finally overcame her logic.

Emira jumped over rocks and shrubs, a light orb in her hand, lighting up the path to the forest. 

As she slowly made her way to the Ursabeest’s cave, the thickets of trees became thicker and thicker, and the path became more winding and hard to navigate. 

Emira finally came upon the cave, after several minutes and several instances of her stepping on sticks. (Emira didn’t actually think they were sticks, but she wasn’t going to look down.)

Emira extinguished her light. The Ursabeest’s natural bioluminescence lit up the path just fine. Plus, had she continued carrying it around, it would’ve woken up the beast.

Emira cleared her throat and looked around.

“Heya there, Ursabeest. It’s me, ya girl.” Emira shouted, definitely expecting some sort of snort from the bear.

A large roar and a gust of wind knocked her back and sent Emira landing in her feet.

That wasn’t the wind, Emira knew for sure.

That was the snore.

Instantly, Emira looked up from where she had landed. 

Right in front of her lay the starry-speckled snout of the Ursabeest.

It was asleep, as Emira had quickly figured out.

Emira dug into her bag. 

Ordinarily, purses are used to store makeup and money, but Emira pulled out a rope and a bag of feed.

“Okay, sweetie girl. I’m gonna do something you’re not gonna like. Please, don’t wake up.” Emira whispered, walking over to the beast and climbing up its paw, and wrangling her way up its back.

Emira unfurled the rope and swung it to the ground, gently sliding it over the creature’s neck.

She tied three knots to better insure the rope wouldn’t fall off, and slid her way off of the beast, Admiring her work.

This wasn’t the last time she’d see this beast.

Emira smirked, and dug the feed out of her bag, sprinkling it around the bear’s face.

“A gift for when you wake up.” Emira whispered, and put the feed back in her purse.

She ran back down the way she came, and to a date with the girl of her dreams.

  
——-

  
Edric sat on his bed, face in his hands.

Even after he’d managed to get a night to himself, he couldn’t enjoy it.

He was right to not like what Emira did. He was right to want to let her do this on her own.

But for whatever reason, he just couldn’t sink the guilt of what he had done.

And that’s what he hated the most.

He sat there, on his bed, all the lights in his room turned off.

Edric sighed.

  
A knock came on his door.

Edric groaned.

“Emira, I’m not interested in going with you. I’ve already said that!” Edric shouted.

“What do you mean? Emira left a while ago.” A voice shouted back.

Edric shot his head up.

The door opened.

Amity stepped in the room, and sighed. (It was more like waddled, because she was on crutches.) 

“Why are you sitting in the dark, Ed?” Amity asked, flicking the lights on.

“Great. What do you want, Amity? Come here to shame me?” Edric said, crossing his arms.

“No, actually. Why would I insult a crying person? Besides, I have something to ask of you.” Amity said, rolling her eyes. 

“What?” Edric replied.

Amity limped over to where Edric was sitting on his bed, and sat beside him, sighing.

It was silent for a few seconds.

“I know how you must feel. It’s terrible, huh?” Amity said, finally.

“What do you mean?” Edric asked.

“I mean, knowing you’re in the right to refuse helping someone, but still feeling guilty about it anyways.” Amity replied.

“Pfft. I don’t think you know what that’s like.” Edric retorted.

“You and Emira are twins, right? You’ve never done anything apart. It’s like your tied together at the waist. And you feel crushed not helping her, even though you’d know that you’d probably get hurt if you did help her.” Amity said, looking off into the distance. “Correct me if I’m wrong.”

“No, you’re—you’re spot on. I mean, the last two times I tried to help Emira out I nearly got killed doing it.” Edric replied.

“But you want to help her anyways?” Amity asked.

“Yeah.” Edric answered.

“Hey, Ed. Did I ever tell you how I twisted my ankle?” Amity asked, lifting her injured ankle up. It was in a cast surrounded by healing glyphs.

“Now that I think about it, you didn’t.” Edric replied.

“Long story short, I got into a grudgby match alongside Willow and Luz. Thing is, I could’ve refused going into the match in the first place, which would’ve prevented my injury. I would’ve had a valid reason to refuse, because I knew that even existing around Luz guarantees a possibility of death.” Amity continued.

“But you know what? I still played alongside her anyways. It didn’t matter if I got hurt. I was doing what I felt I should’ve done. And yeah, sure, I did end up hurting myself. But it didn’t hurt as much as it would’ve had I not helped out Willow and Luz.” Amity smiled, looking out the window at the stars.

“But you twisted your ankle—I mean, doesn’t that hurt?” Edric asked.

“Yep. Absolutely. But right now, I’m just glad that I helped my friends out anyways, no matter how corny that sounds.” Amity said, patting Edric’s shoulder.

“For a freshman, you have some pretty wise knowledge, Amity.” Edric joked.

“Yeah, yeah. So, what you’re gonna do now, is you’re gonna go after Emira, snd you’re gonna help her tame the Ursabeest.” Amity smirked.

Edric got up and put a fist in the air. “I get it now! It doesn’t matter if I get hurt while helping Em! Because I’ll be helping her, and that’s what matters most—wait, did you say she was gonna tame the Ursabeest?” Edric snapped his head around.

“It really took that long for it to set in, huh?” Amity chuckled, and leaped off of Edric’s bed, grabbing her crutches. “Go find her before she gets mauled by her own poor judgement.” Amity winked, waddling out of Edric’s room.

Edric dug into his drawers and dug out a tux, not even fazed by the fact that it was wrinkled to high hell. “Hey, Amity?” He asked.

“Yeah?” Amity replied.

“How’d you know that Emira was going to tame the Ursabeest?” Edric questioned.

“Let’s just say that sound travels really well in this house.” Amity laughed, and walked out of Ed’s room.

Edric rolled his eyes.

Now, this solo act was again a duet.

Edric smiled, and folded out the tuxedo.

  
——-

  
Emira jumped out of the bushes and into the grassy clearing.

It’d been about 20 minutes since she’d disappeared into the forest. Viney was probably thinking that she was late.

Emira wouldn’t correct her. It wasn’t time to reveal the grand plan yet.

Emira looked over to where Viney was and made her way over there.

“Hey! Sorry I’m a little late!” Emira said, waving over to Viney.

“Nah, it’s fine.” Viney replied.

Emira sat down at the table, and looked up at the dim orange lights that illuminated the park.

The park was essentially akin to a giant spiraling courtyard, with small cuts of shrubbery littered throughout. 

Emira and Viney were sitting near the front area of the park, which was also intentional on Emira’s part. This specific part was the largest, so that Viney could probably get the best front row seat to what Emira was going to do.

“So, um, lovely night out here, isn’t it?” Viney asked. She drummed her fingers on the table nervously.

“Oh, yeah. The stars are amazing this time of year.” Emira replied. 

“It’s funny to think that the Starlight Festival is only two weeks away. Time passes by fast.” Viney chuckled.

Emira smiled. “Yeah. Time does pass by fast.” 

“So, do you wanna—I don’t know—eat now? I brought dinner for the both of us.” Viney asked, pulling out a large bag, and slinging it over the table.

“Nah—I don’t really have an appetite right now.” Emira said.

“I’ll leave some food over for you anyways.” Viney said, ripping open a sandwich and stuffing it in her mouth.

Emira was too entranced by her beauty to cringe at that.

The wind blew Viney’s hair in such a way that Emira couldn’t help but stare. 

Maybe it’s because of the dimmer lights, but her eyes sparkled even brighter than before.

All of those forests—those singing birds—they came back to her.

Emira smiled dreamily.

Her gaze was interrupted by her watch biting her hand. 

Emira shot up and slapped her watch, turning it off.

_5 minutes._

“Em, are you okay?” Viney asked, looking up from ripping apart yet another sandwich.

“Oh, um, yeah. Just—you know, gotta use the bathroom.” Emira replied, leaping out of her chair and running off. “I’ll be right back!” She yelled over to Viney as she dove into the bushes.

Viney sat at the table confusedly.

“I probably should’ve told her there’s no bathrooms at Fishman Park,” Viney said, and continued eating her sandwich.

  
——-

  
Emira raced through the bushes, jumping over shrub after shrub.

_5 minutes. 5 minutes and it starts._

Light orb in her hand, she raced back to the cave where the Ursabeest slept.

The feed she had placed earlier should’ve gone into effect now. 

Not only was it luminescent, it was also triggering.

Which means if Emira placed a spell on it, it’d wake up the Ursabeest.

Emira slid over to the cave, ignoring the fact that this was most definitely going to ruin her heels.

When she came to a halt, she looked for the end of the rope she’d left cut so that she could find it when she came back.

But it wasn’t there.

Emira looked around frantically.

_I didn’t misplace it, right? Agh, it has to be around here somewhere—_

“FEAR NOT! IT IS I WHO HAS TAKEN THE ROPE!” A voice bellowed from the back of the Ursabeest.

Emira snapped her head over to the sound of that voice.

That _familiar_ voice.

_Wait, it can’t be. That’s—_

“Edric?! What are you doing here?” Emira yelled.

“Simple. I decided you needed help.” Edric said, leaping down from the Ursabeest.

His tux was absolutely filthy and ridden with dirt and plants.

 _He probably took the long way into the forest,_ Emira thought.

“Look, Edric, I’m glad you’re here, but you shouldn’t be. You could get hurt, and I don’t want that to happen to you. Not after what you told me. I promised myself I wouldn’t try to hurt you.” Emira sighed.

“I don’t care if I get hurt or not. That’s the least of my concern. I just wanna help you. And, I’m sorry about what I said earlier.” Edric said, putting a hand on Emira’s shoulder.

“Really?” Emira looked at Edric as tears welled in her eyes.

“Yeah. Now, what do I have to do next?” Edric asked, smiling.

—

“AAAAAAAHHHHH!! THIS ISN’T WHAT I HAD IN MIND!” Edric screamed, running from the Ursabeest, a rope in his hand.

“Well, you asked what you could do to help! WOOHOOO!” Emira yelled, happily riding on the back of the Ursabeest, her hair billowing in the wind.

As of currently, it’d been about 5 minutes since the Ursabeest awoke and started chasing after Edric, while Emira got on its back. 

Edric had been leaping over branch after rock after plant, desperate to not be this creature’s late dinner. 

Emira smiled, and for a moment, she forgot about all the trouble she was probably going to be in.

She raised her hands in the air and let go of the ropes.  
  
Of course, the only way that this could go disastrously wrong was if the Ursabeest was close to entering the boundary of Fishman Park.

(Of course, based on the absurd irony of how this story’s gone so far, you probably already know this answer. DING!)

The Ursabeest dashed into the shrubbed clearing, sending Emira flying off of it’s back and onto the ground, sliding for a few good feet before stopping completely. 

Edric backed away from the creature and ran over to help Emira get up

“Are you okay?” Edric asked, helping Emira up.

“Never better!” Emira shouted, brushing the dirt and plants off of her dress.

The Ursabeest roared, and Emira got up and started racing towards it to jump on its back.

Unfortunately, Emira’s puny size was no match for the beast’s claws, and it smacked her back, throwing her to a tree.

“OOF!” Emira shouted, impacting the tree.

Edric ran over to help her get up, but he noticed a figure running into the clearing.

“Wh-WHAT?” The figure shrieked, gasping in awe at the sheer size of the creature.

Emira looked up. “Hey, Viney!” She waved.

Viney craned her neck over to where Emira and Edric were.

“DID—DID YOU TWO DO THIS?” She shouted.

“Mostly me, but Edric helped!” Emira shouted. “Don’t worry though! I have this under control!”

Viney dashed in front of the beast. “Look, Em, I don’t know if you know this or not, but the Ursabeest is one of the hardest animals to tame on the Isles! I don’t know what you were thinking when you woke it up!” Viney shouted, casting a spell circle.

Emira got up from where she was.

She walked over to Viney.

“You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Emira said.

Viney grabbed the rope left on the ground and started casting an aura on it. She struggled to pull back from how hard the Ursabeest was thrashing. Her hands ached from the fibers of the rope scratching her palms.

“And, Viney—“ Emira walked up next to Viney, and touched a finger to her hand, smoothing her hand over it.

“I’ll admit it. I don’t have the best judgement. Or logic. Or way of seeing things.” Emira said, sighing.

“Em, I don’t have time for this—“ Viney interrupted. The Ursabeest lashed out and spun to the right, taking Viney along with it.

“—But I do have something else. And I don’t know if you’ve seen it yet.” Emira continued.

“Is that idiocy?” Viney yelled, jerking the rope back, triggering the spell she put on it. Her pinstripe suit was covered in dirt and grass by now, and her hands and face lay littered with cuts and bruises from the Ursabeest jerking her around.

“I guess. I like to call it courage, you know.” Emira smiled. “I summoned the beast to tame in front of you. I thought it’d impress you. Obviously, in hindsight, that was a bad decision. But what can I say? I don’t have the best judgement.” She said, grabbing the rope and pulling on it too. 

Emira and Viney both pulled the rope back at the same time, causing the Ursabeest to screech in pain.

The fibers of the rope suddenly lit up, and the aura cast around it wafted around the beast.

The Ursabeest instantly grew weary, and it didn’t continue fighting back against the rope. 

Instead, it rather yawned, and fell to the ground, immediately out cold.

 _Oh. So it’s a sleep spell,_ Emira thought.

Emira was too busy being in her daze to notice that Viney had firmly grabbed her shoulder.

“Hey.” 

Emira looked at Viney, golden eyes meeting emerald.

“You know, you’re pretty idiotic for a top student.” Viney smiled.

“As I said, I like to call it being courageous.” Emira boasted.

“Alright then. Hey, Miss Courageous Idiot, why not you come eat the sandwich I packed for you?” Viney asked, nudging Emira’s arm.

“Oh yeah, sure.” Emira replied. 

Edric rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. My work here is done, so I guess I should leave now.” Edric winked, walking out of the clearing.

Emira rolled her eyes, and walked back with Viney to the table to enjoy a nice meal.

—

“—So, I guess that’s really what fun we had on the night of the Wailing Star.” Emira said, finishing off the last of her sandwich.

“I can’t blame Amity for getting that mad. You guys are terrible,” Viney joked, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. Her white collar shirt wrinkled a bit when she did that.

“Pff, sure, you’re friends with the worst people in the world. How’s it feel?” Emira asked jokingly.

“Amazing,” Viney said, lifting her gaze up to the sky.

Emira did the same.

The sky, now illuminated with a moon that looked somewhat-almost full, had now been dark for a while now. 

The stars glittered perfectly, shimmering all crystalline-like. Emira and Viney were both definitely captivated by the skylights, but who wouldn’t be?

“I can’t believe the Starlight Festival happens in only a few weeks. I still haven’t finished charting the stars. I probably should get on that.” Viney chuckled, eyes focused on the stars above her.

“Me neither. I’m already seeing some people asking others out to be their dates for the festival. Hey, Vines, do you plan on going with anyone?” Emira asked, smiling.

“I mean, I guess. It wasn’t really my intent to ask anyone to the festival. I dunno.” Viney replied.

“Well, if you want, I could go with you.” Emira said.

Viney looked back down to Emira, her gaze broken from the stars. “Wait, what?”

“I could be your date. I mean, I literally woke up and tried to tame an ancient beast just so I could impress you. Not to brag or anything, but I’d be the perfect Starlight Festival date.” Emira boasted.

“Well, you’re an idiot, but I was more impressed by the fact that you had the guts to do it then rather you actually doing it. You know what? Fine. I’ll go with you. I just don’t want you going out and waking up random creatures to tame in front of me.” Viney smirked, putting a fist on the table.

“Oh, so I’m an idiot? I’d prefer it if you called me by my full name, you know.” Emira winked.

“Alright, fine. I’ll be your date to the Starlight Festival, courageous idiot.” Viney replied smugly.

“Perfect.” Emira replied, looking into Viney’s eyes.

And Viney returned the action.

They both would’ve stayed like that for the rest of the night, had Emira not had a curfew.

Emira got up off of her chair and sighed, looking at Viney again.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye, for right now, at least. I guess I’ll see you on Monday?” Emira smiled.

“Guess it is. Bye, Ems.” Viney waved.

“Bye, Vines.” Emira waved back, running out of the park.

• ——- •

Emira sank into her bed, her nightgown brushing softly against her sheets.

She sighed dreamily.

Emira was _lucky_.

 _Lucky_ to make it out of this night alive, _lucky_ to have Viney as her date, and most importantly—

— _Lucky_ have even had Viney at her side to stop the Ursabeest.

Emira looked out her window.

The starry light shone in through the window, illuminating the silky curtains hanging off of Emira’s canopy bed.

By now, Viney was probably charting the sky. And maybe she was thinking of Emira too.

It’s funny. How both of them are probably doing different things, but they’re connected. Under the same sky, under the same line of thought.

Emira tucked a strand of green hair behind her ear.

She remembered what Viney had said earlier.

  
_“Alright, fine. I’ll be your date to the starlight festival, courageous idiot.”_

  
_Courageous Idiot,_ Emira thought.

  
That name suited her just fine.

  
Emira smiled and looked out the window, and at the starry sky.

  
Because you can’t be courageous without being an idiot. It’s a written rule, by the way.

**Author's Note:**

> i am unapologetically a procrastinator so this fic would've come out earlier pff
> 
> credits to @prinxlyart/@edasnest for the prompt that inspired this fic! i had a very fun time writing this, thanks to them!
> 
> follow me on tumbler for more gay sht yeah - https://www.tumblr.com/blog/elliestarss


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